My Journey to Hobbiton – A New Zealand Must-Do
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
And today, we are getting swept off to none other than Hobbiton in New Zealand! Whether you’re a big fan of “The Hobbit” & “Lord of the Rings,” or not, Hobbiton is still a must-do when you’re in New Zealand.
I do promise you don’t have to be the world’s biggest fan to get swept up in the magic of Hobbiton. It’s nestled in Matamata, New Zealand, right in the middle of a farmer’s field (seriously, you’ll have to dodge roaming sheep and cows as you drive up to Hobbiton). It’s a quiet little area that is everything I would expect The Shire to be and more.
The Hobbit homes you see in Hobbiton are actually permanent structures built for filming “The Hobbit” trilogy. The Lord of the Rings Hobbit homes were demolished after filming, leaving just bare plywood facades. The remnants of those homes became such a popular tourist stop, though, that Sir Peter Jackson (director of these epic movies), decided to make the set a permanent little town when they started filming The Hobbit.
I do recommend taking a tour while you wander through Hobbiton, as many of the people who work here were part of the filming of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. And they have all kinds of fun little facts to share while you make your way through The Shire.
For example, the apple tree pictured above was transformed into a plum tree for the movie. Because in the book there is a line about children sitting under the plum trees. But Sir Peter Jackson felt plum trees would be too large for Hobbits. Before shooting, the apples were all stripped from the tree and replaced with fake plums. The attention to detail was amazing!
You’ll notice too, that some Hobbit homes are larger than others. The small ones were used for filming without Hobbits in the scene. Whereas the larger Hobbit homes were used for filming with Hobbits next to them, to make the actors/actresses appear small.
Also, don’t be disappointed, but the insides of the Hobbit homes are nothing more than an empty closet, basically. All the interior shots for the movies were done in a studio in Wellington. But you are able to pose for a photo inside the one pictured above!
There are 44 permanently reconstructed Hobbit Holes for you to admire as you wander through Hobbiton town. I didn’t take a photo of each one, but I certainly tried! Haha.
Your journey will end at The Green Dragon Inn, where you have your choice of Hobbiton brews! The actors/actresses were given a special beer that had only 1% alcohol in it, so they wouldn’t actually be drunk while they were acting. This beer was then sold on tours after filming was over. Needless to say, it sold out very quickly! And now Hobbiton has its own brewery! (With the normal amount of alcohol, though! Haha.)
The photo gallery below has captions with fun little tidbits about each photo. If you’re interested in reading them, just left click to see the caption and it will make it full-sized. 🙂
I really have a hard time deciding what my favorite part of our trip to New Zealand was, but this one part just might be it. And moment of truth, I honestly wouldn’t consider myself a diehard Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fan. My husband is the diehard fan. (I had only watched the movies maybe 5 years ago, but I did see The Hobbit trilogy in theaters. And I really need to read the books!) I did really enjoy them, but not to the level of obsession I have with say, Star Wars. However, I still LOVED my time in Hobbiton. And if you’re in the North Island – or heck, in New Zealand at all – be sure to check out Hobbiton!
We were staying in Rotorua, New Zealand at this time and took a bus shuttle from there + a tour once we arrived at Hobbiton. Click here for more info on that, and click here for The Hobbiton website.
What do you think of Hobbiton? Did any of the info in this post surprise you? Let me know in the comments!
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Sounds (and looks) incredible!! So wish I could do this one day!!
I really hope you get to go! You’ll love it!
Oh my god this looks amazing! It’s a dream destination of mine to go visit as a massive LotR fan! It looks incredible and I’m super jealous that you got to go, but also glad, it looks like you had a lot of fun! Amazing pictures!
Olivia | Immobulife
Aw, thank you, Olivia!! I really hope you make it one day!! 🙂
This place looks amazing! It is like out of a fairy tale in such a beautiful way. 🙂 http://www.bauchlefashion.com/2017/05/cannes-hottest-moments.html
https://www.instagram.com/heathernoire89
Oh yes! Thank you for stopping by, Heather! 🙂
So pretty! It looks like something from a kids story. Love all that green beauty.
www.fashionradi.com
It does! A lot of people said it reminded them of the Teletubby hill when I showed them photos. Haha.
I’m a huge Tolkien fan so I loved this post! The hobbit houses are adorable and it’s really impressive that they made they all different.
Elizabeth | Confidentlyelegant.com
Yay! I’m so glad you liked the post! And I thought that was really impressive as well. 🙂
Oh this looks so cool.. definitely somewhere I would love to visit! x
adelelydia.blogspot.com
Thank you! I hope you get to visit one day. 🙂
Oh my gosh! I am super jealous right now. This is so fantastic! I’m a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings and I love those little Hobbits. These homes are amazing and I definitely want to go visit someday. I had no idea Hobbiton existed. You look adorable in these Shire pics. The Green Dragon Inn is on my bucket list now. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful adventure. How was the beer?
atylishlovestory.blogspot.com
I remember you saying you’re a huge Lord of the Rings fan! I’m so glad you liked the post! I hope you get to visit one day! And the beer was good! I had a stout while I was there. I do think they change the brews up pretty frequently, though. (I didn’t see the stout on the brew list when I looked a couple days ago.)
OMG LINDSEY!!! I’M DYING!
I’m dying seeing these photos and reading about your experiences. I consider myself a diehard fan of the Tolkien world. I actually even consider myself part hobbit XD
I have wanted to go here for so soooo long. It’s on my bucket list. Wow! It looks just as amazing as I thought it would be from your photos. Thank you so much for sharing. Once again I am living through you, and loving it. You’re the best for sharing your photos. Thank you!
Much love,
Mona
Ahh! I remember you saying you loved the Tolkien world! Haha! But I didn’t know you were part Hobbit! 😉 I hope you get to visit soon! And so happy you enjoyed the post. 🙂
Omg, I’ve been waiting for this post, Obi-Wan! My Lord of the Rings obsession is only slightly less strong than my love of Star Wars, so visiting Hobbiton would really be a dream! In addition to all of the neat information about the movie and the sets you can see, it’s really just a beautiful spot! I’d love a beer at the Green Dragon! Was it good??
Haha!! I am so glad you liked the post, Emily! I hope you get to visit Hobbiton one day. 🙂 And yes! The beer was good! I think they change the brews up pretty frequently. I had a stout, but I didn’t see it as one of their current brews when I checked the website.
I had never heard of this, Lindsey!! But what an incredible place!! My husband would love this too!
You really do the funnest things!!
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Yay! So happy to have introduced you to Hobbiton, Jodie! And thank you! 🙂